The reason why a house would need its own Twitter feed may be hard to grasp at first, but it represents a growing trend in Internet-connected devices.

The Twitter account, House of Coates, tweets things like, "Someone just activated the Sitting Room Sensor so I'm pretty sure someone's at home," or, "I just turned on the downstairs lights. It was getting a bit dark."

Coates used a variety of devices and tools to accomplish this. Belkin's WeMo switches let Coates control the lights in his living room, office, and bedroom from his iPhone. The WeMo motion sensor can tell if someone enters the room, while the Twine device keeps tabs on the temperature and his ficus tree's moisture level.

He then connected all of those services to IFTTT (If This Then That), an online tool for programming things like, "If my friend uploads a photo to Instagram send me a text message."

A Twitter account for your house is mostly just a fun hack to create. But it also has a security benefit. For example, if there's suddenly movement in his house, the house will tweet about it and then Coates can act accordingly